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 Leading Off

Everything hurts. Why did they do this to us? Baseball was no fun this week, and as the playoffs continue, it only gets worse. From here, we can only look out the window and wait for Spring.

 

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Join us for The Drink of the Week and let us know what you’re up to via Twitter (@birdseyeviewbal), or on Untapped (jakee4025 and magn8606).

 

This Week on the Twitters

Buck Showalter is Baltimore's greatest manager since Weaver.

Buck Showalter made a horrible boneheaded decision tonight.

Both can be true.

— Dan J. Glickman (@DanJGlickman) October 5, 2016

I asked Andrew Miller if his game tonight might embody the future of modern bullpen usage. His response: pic.twitter.com/tyhxaYT8Vh

— August Fagerstrom (@AugustFG_) October 7, 2016

Baseball has a way of ripping your ❤️ out, stabbing it, putting it back in your chest, then healing itself just in time for Spring Training.

— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) October 6, 2016

If nothing else good comes from this #Orioles loss, may we at least have a farewell @bmorons podcast to do a postmortem on the season? pic.twitter.com/7zZG7ohCk1

— Don Petree (@DonPetree) October 5, 2016

 

What Went Wrong?

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Almost enough time has passed between the Orioles’ defeat in the AL Wild Card game, at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays that we can discuss the game in a mature, even-tempered way. Almost.

Look, the Britton thing was significant, and no one can deny that, but there were other deciding factors that ultimately led to the defeat. While discussing the usage of Britton, we also give credence to factors such as Tillman’s start, disappearing offense, and bullpen management (outside of the 11th).

Damn. It still hurts.

 

Looking Forward – Two Steps Back?

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In this segment, we cover what we should look forward to next season, in terms of personnel. Who will be back, who is worth pursuing, and what holes will result in this offseason of change. 2018 seems to be the tipping point for this team’s ability to compete, so in the meantime, what can the Orioles do to stay relevant now, and moving forward.

We discuss whether it is good enough to have a team that is pretty good (with a legit chance at the playoffs) for a number of years, or whether the short window of contention makes anything other than a World Series run a dereliction of duty.

 

Finally,